Building A Locomotive

No, not a model one. A friend of mine sent me this link to an amazing video of the construction of a “Princess Royal” class steam locomotive at the Crewe Works by the LMS Railway in Britain back in 1935. It is an amazing thing to watch these men building such a massive piece of complicated machinery without the aid of all the modern tools we take for granted. This is much more a work of personal ingenuity, muscle and determination than of finicky laser measurement and overbearing regulations. OK, so yes, I may be waxing a bit poetic, but it is still really cool! Next time I can’t figure out how to do some meager task with all the varied electronic tools I have at my disposal, I will think back on this construction and be humbled. And the next time you whine about your working conditions or amount of physical labor you have to do – watch this.